Member Avatar for ibrosz

Hi there, I have a problem with my PC, any help would be appreciated.

When I plug the ethernet cable from my router to my PC, there is no bubble or popup, etc. to to tell me that its connected, and I am not getting any connection. I've tried restarting the router and computer, but no luck. It's like I didn't even plug anything in! I tried connecting the same cable to another computer and it connected with no problems. I have just installed Vista from XP by the way, if thats any help. This problem is driving me crazy!

Thanks in advance!

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Dani AI

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Short summary and practical follow‑ups based on the thread: the cable and router port already worked on another PC and reported no link LEDs on the problem machine; the final post says installing Windows 7 fixed it. That pattern most often points to an OS/driver compatibility problem rather than a broken cable or router port, but it can also be caused by the NIC being disabled in firmware or a dead onboard NIC.

Quick diagnostic checklist (in roughly the order to try):

  • Verify physical link and LEDs on both ends. If the same cable/port lights with another device but never lights on this PC, treat the NIC as suspect.
  • Check Device Manager (devmgmt.msc). Confirm a network adapter entry exists, and look for yellow icons or “Unknown device.” Use the Details → Hardware Ids value to identify the exact device for driver searches.
  • Collect adapter state: run ipconfig /all and getmac from an elevated command prompt to see whether Windows even exposes the interface and any MAC address.
  • Repair the Windows network stack from an elevated shell with netsh winsock reset and netsh int ip reset, then reboot. These steps fix many driver/stack mismatches.
  • Ensure onboard LAN is enabled in BIOS/UEFI. If the NIC is an add‑in card, reseat it. If the adapter never appears in Device Manager under any OS, consider hardware failure.
  • Isolate the problem by booting a Linux live USB. If networking works there, the issue is almost certainly Windows/driver related.

Notes tied to earlier replies: ’s driver suggestion and ’s LED check are exactly the right starting points; and were pointing toward stack/loopback checks to separate software from hardware. Since installing Windows 7 resolved the case here, the practical takeaway is to install the vendor’s NIC and motherboard chipset drivers (not just generic drivers from Windows Update). If the NIC still never appears in any OS, replacement (or a USB‑Ethernet adapter) is the safe next step.

Recommended Answers

All 7 Replies

Member Avatar for Master Rattley

when you plug in the Ethernet cable, does the port flash green and orange?

Member Avatar for Torontoairport

Try by pining your host IP and see if there is any response from it.
Host IP : 127.0.0.1

Member Avatar for ibrosz

No it doesn't, no lights whatsoever

Member Avatar for ibrosz


could you rephrase please, im not what you would call computer literate!

Member Avatar for MichaelB51026

Check if you have installed driver for you NIC.

Member Avatar for ilyons

Open the Windows command prompt (Run > cmd) and then type ping 127.0.0.1. If the pings are received, then your IP stack is working correctly and it's likely something with either the CAT5 cable or the router.

Member Avatar for ibrosz

Hey i just installed windows 7 and it worked straight away!
Thanks anyway

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